This post goes along with my last one, which has developed into a short series, as you will see over the course of the next week or so. In my last post, I talked about choosing Jesus over other things in life. Now, I want to remind you that choosing Christ is one direction your life can go, but there are many times we get off course. We have to be able to recognize those times, and re-direct ourselves.
Everyone has goals in life: whether small or large, you don't set goals without believing they are attainable. You write down your goal and draw up a plan that you will execute to reach your goal. You set your directional heading, much like the captain of a ship or an aircraft will point the boat or plane in the direction it needs to go. Your direction may be north: we will let this represent steadily gaining altitude or increasing speed. Your heading may be south: we will let this represent landing on a runway or docking the ship (giving up, if you will). You may go east or west. We will let these directions represent veering off course. Whichever direction you choose, there is a purpose behind it. The captain of a ship would not set sail without first plotting his course. A pilot would not take off until setting his heading to the correct position. What is your heading set to? Where do you plan on going in life?
If you can answer these questions, leaving God out of the equation, you can be sure you need to change your direction. No one is perfect, and every Christian has room to improve in their relationship with God. Life gets busy and amid the rush of school, work, kids, church...time with God begins to fade into the distance. You may start slacking on your prayer time, and slowly Bible reading becomes a thing of the past. You fill your 'spare time' with frivolous things to keep yourself entertained. You feel yourself pulling away from God, and when you hit rock bottom, you wonder how you ever got that far away. If you take time to think about it, you will realize that somewhere along the way, you got off course. Other things became center stage, and God was pushed into the background. If you are a true Christian, you will realize that you can never have enough of God in your life. Like flying a plane or steering a ship, there is always ground to cover. There may be circumstances that hinder your progress, but don't let that stop you completely. You can't give up just because you experience setbacks. The pilot of a plane must stay his course even if an engine fails him; if you make mistakes, you must stay on course. Don't allow your problems to take control, or you will start to fall. If I have learned anything in the past year, it is this: You may get knocked down, but in order to change the situation, you must find the strength to get back up again. But not in your own strength. You cannot possibly go through life relying on physical strength. The pilot would probably send for help if his plane was plummeting toward the ground. If you're in trouble, send out a cry for help. Let God give you the strength you need to keep moving forward in your relationship with him. There may be trials and temptations, but God won't let you forget what grace is. After all you go through in life, God has the final say. But He can't make you follow after Him. That is ultimately up to you. If you choose to go the opposite direction, your problems will eventually consume you.
When you set your directional heading to north, you may consistently read your Bible and pray every day. Your walk with the Lord may be better than it has ever been. But that is only one direction your life can go. If your life begins to go south, you know you have probably veered off course. Sometimes, you have to re-trace your steps and find out where it was that you went wrong. Whatever you allowed to come between you and Jesus must be dispelled before you can get back on course. You may think you're just going to give up. Life might seem too hard right now, and it seems like God isn't even listening to your prayers. But that isn't true. Sometimes we are the ones who become silent because we are no longer communicating with God. The other option we have to realize is that God may be testing us. Remember, the teacher is always quiet during a test. But it won't always be that way. When you start talking to God again, you will be able to feel His presence near you, and you may hear from Him more. When the test is over, God will still be right there. Before you choose to make decisions you might regret, redirect your steps toward Jesus.
The disciples chose to follow Jesus, a complete stranger they had never met in their lives, and most of them gained an eternal reward for doing so. Their faith propelled them in the right direction. Many of the disciples were simple fisherman, but they stepped out of their boats and into the great unknown with Jesus. They weren't perfect men. They weren't already saved, sanctified, or filled with the Holy Ghost when they met Jesus. They also made mistakes along the way. Peter denied Jesus three times before He was crucified, yet when He repented, Jesus heard him and Peter continued to follow Christ. He also won many souls for the Lord. The disciples were ordinary men, traveling to ordinary places. But their goal was to proclaim the gospel. They had their lives set in the right direction. This is where we also need to set our goals: toward Jesus. Serving God with our whole hearts and winning souls for Christ should be the ultimate goals in our lives. It isn't easy, and it takes a lot of courage, but this is what it means to step out in faith. You may have other goals in life, but if this isn't one of them, something else in your life may be holding you back...I am not only talking to the sinner, or backslider. I am talking to every Christian, myself included. It can be hard to make sure we are headed toward the goals Christ set for us, not only our own. Despite our goals and aspirations, if they are not aligned with God's Word or Will for our lives, we have been headed in the wrong direction.
One of the disciples did not choose to follow Jesus like all the others. Instead, he chose to betray Jesus. There were two roads Judas could have taken. He could have taken the narrow road, the way to eternal life. The way to life is narrow, so we must tread carefully. Then there is the road to destruction, which is wider, but ends in eternal torment. This is the road Judas ultimately chose for himself. Think about how that story could have played out differently. If only Judas had realized he was headed down the road to destruction, I believe he would have made a different decision. His life ended because of the road he chose to follow. He allowed his love for money, his greed, to outweigh his love for the Savior. Do not let your life end in destruction. The directions we can take, spiritually, are either Heaven or Hell. Choose carefully the people, places, and things you follow. If you are not surrounding yourself with godly people, not going to places God would be pleased with, or exposing yourself to things that are not going to be good for your soul, it could mean the difference between eternal life or eternal torment.
Now that you know the possible directions in life, it's time to plan your course of action. Where will you go? Are you willing to give up everything for the cause of Christ? Search yourself, and see what your directional heading would look like. Life is all about the direction you take. So, which direction are you headed?
*Matthew 7:13-14*Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.